Intertwined
by PurpleRanger101
Summary: Seven survived. They went their separate ways. Now, an old enemy is back and is targeting their children. Can friends from the future save them? Or has their luck finally run out? One thing is for sure: their fates are intertwined.
1. Trailer

**They had finally won it all. **

Flynn charges Venjix and dives past him. He rolls to his feet and whirls around, swinging his Turbo Cannon like a bludgeon.

A bear, a lynx, a gorilla, a tiger, a minotaur and a buffalo fight together against Venjix.

Venjix falls and explods.

**Saved the world.**

Three boys step out from the crowd.

"After all they've done for us? Count me in, Doc. I'll help." Jack says.

Kira sings "Gone" at the memorial service.

**And gone their separate ways.**

Ryan and his niece sit at a window in the Aquabase, staring out at the ocean, laughing.

Casey and Hunter are in a kitchen, making pizzas. Sky and Andrew run in, tossing a football.

Flynn, Syd and Shay drive across the plains in Flynn's Jeep.

**It's been five years.**

Sky, now eleven, is playing video games with Syd.

Jessie and Jake, fourteen and twelve, race through the forests of Mirinoi on the Galactabeasts.

Andrew, ten, practices his Ninja arts under the watchful eye of his Uncle Hunter.

**And evil has returned.**

Sky runs into the pizza parlor, his face white. Casey looks up from the pizza he is making.

"Sky? What's wrong, buddy?"

"She's hurt, Casey. Syd's hurt and I can't find Flynn anywhere."

Kira and Xander are sitting in Rootcore when Carson bursts in, carrying his little sister in his arms. She is bleeding heavily and has several scar marks on her. Kira screams and leaps to her feet.

"Carson! What happened?"

Her son looks at her. "He came out of nowhere. Attacked Connor. Lee tried to stop him but they took him."

**This April, it may be that only a force from the future can save them.**

A man steps from the shadows. "Sky Tate. SPD. This is Bridge and Syd. We're here to help."

Ryan runs down a corridor, Bridge on his heels. "Ryan! Where are you?"

Hunter is lying on top of a pit, looking down. Two little girls are at the bottom. "Don't worry, Connor! Don't worry, Tori! I'll get you out, I promise!"

A boy jumps in front of a girl, protecting her from a laser blast that slams him instead.

A clock, ticking down.

Flynn rises from the ground, half of his face burned beyond recognition.

Sky Tate pushes himself off the ground. "This time, it's personal," he says and raises his morpher.

**Even then, it might not be enough.**

"Lee, I'm scared."

"Me too, Connor. Me, too."

**Author's Note: So what do you think? Definitely still in the planning stages. Not sure at all where it would go but had an inkling of an idea and wanted to get some feedback. What do you guys think? Review the trailer please and let me know! **

**In case you haven't read my other stories, especially **_**In a Heartbeat**_**, here's what you need to know just to understand the trailer. **

**Ryan's niece is Carter and Dana's daughter. Carter and Dana are dead. Her name is also Ryan. **

**Sky is Wes and Jen's son. They are both dead and Casey is raising Sky. Andrew is Blake and Tori's son. They're dead. He's being raised by Hunter. They are all in Corinth City. **

**Syd and Shay are Eric and Taylor's kids. Eric and Taylor are dead. Syd and Shay are being taken care of by Flynn. **

**Jessie and Jake are Leo and Kendrix' kids. **

**Kira and Xander are married. However, Carson and Connor are Kira and Trent's kids before Trent was killed. Lee is Nick and Madison's son. He's been adopted by Xander as both of his parents are dead. **

**Tori is Hunter's daughter. **

**See how much you've missed by not reading **_**Heartbeat**_**? That being said, please read **_**Heartbeat.**_** Or, better yet, start with the first in the series, **_**Sacrifice.**_** Then move on to **_**Bound**_**. Then **_**Heartbeat**_**. They're really good or so I've been told. And I'm biased. But anyway, I'll make it easy to read **_**Intertwined**_** without having read **_**Heartbeat**_**. But please, review!**


	2. Story

"Is it my turn already?" the taller man in the circle asked. He looked from the two guys on his right to the two girls on his left. "I don't even have a story to tell. I grew up, I came to the Academy and now I'm a Power Ranger. All right then, I'm done. Next."

The young man seated next to him shook his head, sending his dark dreadlocks flapping about his face. "Not so fast. We all know you have an interesting story. Your dad was a Power Ranger, after all. You grew up in Corinth City. Now it's time for you to tell us everything. We told you."

The first man opened his mouth to protest but the woman beside him laid a hand on his arm. "It's okay, Sky. Tell them. And, while you're telling the story, you can tell them about Casey and Kira and all the others. We can tell them the stories of heroes. Of your father and of your adoptive father. Tell them about our childhood."

The other woman in the group frowned. "You and Syd knew each other before you joined SPD? I didn't know that. And who's Casey? And Kira? Sounds like a story to me."

The third man, a man with unruly brown hair, threw a 'might-as-well-tell-them' look at Sky. "It is an interesting story, you gotta admit. You and Dad were so against anyone else joining your little duo and then I came along…come on, just tell them. They'll figure it somehow."

Sky sighed. "Fine. I'll tell you the story. It starts about eight years ago. Five years after the destruction of Venjix. Aliens had been visiting Earth for about three years and…

* Eight Years Earlier. Corinth City. *

Casey and Hunter were in the kitchen of Jungle Karma Pizza Parlor. It was nearing lunch rush and their three employees were missing. Therefore, they were having to make a gazillion pizzas all by themselves. Casey plucked a handful of spicy pepperonis from a tub and spread them evenly across the pie he was working on. It was a new pizza, one that the Irridians had requested. Ever since the different alien species had begun arriving, he and Hunter had been forced to adapt their menus to fit the new styles. For instance, Hunter was working on the Seafood Medley Pizza, covered with anchovies, shrimp and calamari. Personally, Casey thought it tasted disgusting.

Hunter looked up from the pizza. "They're late. Like thirty minutes late. Didn't we tell them eleven o'clock? They were just going to look at Flynn's plans for the new headquarters. And Sawyer was going with them. He's never late. Something's wrong."

Laughing, Casey flicked a pinch of flour at his best friend. "Relax, man. They're nine and twelve. And Sawyer's eighteen. He's the only one who really helps out in here. Speaking of kids, bro, where's Tori?"

"Syd and Shay came by this morning and asked if they could babysit her for a while. She's almost three, you know. They wanted to take her to the park and so I said yes. The two of them really like her and it's good to have a morning to myself for a change." Hunter shrugged.

Casey looked up at that. "I never did think you would go through with the whole adoption idea. Figured you had enough on your hands with Andrew. And without a wife, I mean, come on. There's only so far a girlfriend will go, hasn't Marah proved that?"

Hunter spread the shrimp around on the pizza in front of him. "Just something I felt I needed to do. I've told you before. Let's talk about you; when are you going to get around to getting hitched? I know there are tons of women in this city alone who would kill to just go out with you. You're Casey Rhodes, hero of Corinth City, scourge of Venjix. When are you going to settle down?"

"And I've told you before – when I feel like it. Me and Sky, we like being bachelors. He's just getting to where he likes more girls than just Syd. The two of us, we make a good team. We don't need anyone else just yet." Casey tossed his pie in the oven and grinned at Hunter. "'Course, he might be on his own in a few minutes if he doesn't show up."

Hunter rested his elbows on the counter. "But Casey, I'm telling you, there's this little boy in the same orphanage where Tori was. He's eight years old and he wants nothing more than a family. I talked to him the other day and asked him what kind of family he wants. You know what his answer was? He just wants a Daddy to play games with. Now-"

He was interrupted when the swinging door to the kitchen burst open and two young boys and a teenager ran in. The boy in the front had a long gash down the side of his face. The other boy had dirt all in his hair and his shirt was ripped. But Sawyer was the worst of all. Blood was running freely from a cut near the top of his head. His right arm hung limp at his side and he was limping.

Casey just stared. He was used to seeing Sky wounded but not like this. And not all three of them. Sawyer never let them get into any trouble. He and his brother, Charlie, seemed to think they owed a debt to Hunter. Sawyer was repaying it by hanging with Sky and Andrew. Charlie joined him some days but he was off at college now and not around much.

"What the crap happened to you guys?" Hunter asked calmly. It was the kind of calm voice where you know that one wrong answer gets your butt kicked. He didn't take his eyes off of his nine-year-old nephew as he wiped his hands and came around the counter to stand beside Casey. The two adults stared.

Andrew shifted his weight nervously from foot to foot. Sawyer looked like he wanted to cut and run, afraid Hunter and Casey might get mad and pound on him. Sky stared right back at his adopted Dad and wiped the blood from his face.

"Dad, you don't understand!"

* Eight Years Later. SPD Headquarters. *

Sky was interrupted abruptly as the darker-haired young woman stuck her hand up in the air. "Sky! Hang on a sec."

Syd sighed and shook her head, causing her blonde curls to whip across the dark-skinned young man's face. He grimaced but Syd ignored him. "Z, don't interrupt. It's a good story but not if people interrupt. You just gotta let him tell it."

Z glared at her. "I'm confused, though. In your story, you called Casey Rhodes your father. Only, that framed picture you have of you and your Dad is of you and a Time Force Power Ranger. Everyone knows Casey was a Jungle Fury Ranger. I just don't understand how that is possible."

Sky nodded and motioned to Syd to calm down. "Sorry, I'll explain it a little better. My father was Wesley Collins, Red Time Force Ranger. My mom was Jen, the Pink Time Force Ranger. They were both killed by the Psycho Rangers. After the war with Venjix, Casey took me in. Turns out my Dad had told him that he was the only one he trusted. So, when I was seven, he took me in. Two years later, he adopted me. The name my parents gave me was Schuyler Tatum Collins. Everyone still called me Sky then. Even them. I asked Casey if he wanted me to change my last name to Rhodes after he adopted me. But he said that was my decision to make. By the time the story I'm telling you starts, I wasn't really a Collins anymore. I mean, I was, but I was also a Rhodes. I didn't know what to do. So I just decided to make my own name. I changed my name legally about two years ago but, when I was twelve, I changed my name to Schuyler Landon Tate because that way I would still have the first name my parents gave me and I would show my love for my new Dad by taking his middle name. And Tate was a new last name that was completely my own. Did that clear things up for you, Z?"

"Yeah, plenty. Ok. I'm ready to return to the story now."

Sky laughed, cleared his throat and began back where he'd stopped.

* Eight Years Earlier. Corinth City. *

"Oh, yeah, Sky? Explain it to me, then." Casey's tone booked no room for arguing. "Explain how a simple trip to the garage to work with Flynn for a few hours has you coming back bloodied, bruised and broken. Did Flynn put you to work testing something for him? 'Cause then he'd be the one I'm gonna yell at."

Sky spread his hands wide and plastered on his most innocent look. "Dad, just listen. We were on our way here from the garage and we heard yells. They sounded like cries for help so we ran to see what was going on. There was this kid in an alley being beat up by four bigger guys. I mean, big guys, Dad, huge!"

Andrew interjected helpfully, "Yeah, Uncle Hunter, Casey, they were massive. Even bigger than Sawyer!"

"You let your best friend, who is only nine, I might add, fight against four bigger guys who could probably have torn him limb from limb? Well, that's smart. I'm glad you have learned something from your Wind Ninja training with Hunter."

"Hey!" Andrew protested. "I'm a Thunder Ninja and I didn't even get my butt kicked as much as Sky did!"

Hunter turned to Sawyer. The young man was holding back a small grin. Hunter wasn't grinning. "Why did you let them get involved, Sawyer? Outnumbered and outgunned? You couldn't have thought you would win."

Sawyer glanced quickly at Sky and Andrew before looking back at Hunter. "Actually, we did win. And I didn't let them do anything. They ran into battle before I could stop them. But I kept them alive, didn't I? And we rescued the kid."

Casey threw his hands up into the air. "Oh, good. As long as you rescued the kid, it's all okay. Well, goodie. That's what I was worried about."

Sky sighed. "Can't you even let us tell you the best part, Dad? Please?"

Just then, a young woman poked her head into the kitchen. "Ummm…Casey, Hunter, we've got impatient customers out here. Care to get those pizzas out?" The willowy blonde winked at Sky. "Hey, kid, you look like you've gone one too many rounds with a lawnmower."

"Hey!" Sky protested. "Jess! Ugh. Girls." He began kneading a pile of dough as Hunter pulled a spicy pepperoni from the oven. Jessie Corbett laughed lightly and went back out into the parlor, rubbing her hands on her JKP standard-issue apron. Sky glanced up at his father. "Why'd you even let Jessie work here anyway? Why'd she and Jake even leave Mirinoi?"

Casey grinned and, reaching over, ruffled Sky's hair. "Stop pouting. You look like a Rinshi." He laughed. "You know that Jessie wanted to come and see what was going on with the new city and hang out with her friends. It had been five years since she and Jake had been to Earth. And they needed somewhere to stay. So Jessie is staying here in the loft and working the parlor while Jake stays at the Aquabase with Ryan and Ryan."

* Eight Years Later. SPD Headquarters.*

This time it was the African American man who interrupted. "So who was the kid? Did he even matter to the story? Was he important? Gay story if he didn't need to be in it. So far, I'm not seeing the necessity of your story except that all of the Rangers' kids seemed to like staying at your pizza place. Which I've never been to, by the way. Why you holding out?"

Sky raised his hands in a surrendering gesture. "Hang on, Jack. I was just getting to the important part. As to why you've never been to JKP, you've never been to Corinth City. Or asked about it before now. But I'll take you there sometime, all of you. Now, back to my story.

* Eight Years Earlier. Corinth City. *

"Dad, I want to tell you the most important part, okay? Something crazy happened to me and Andrew while we were out there. Something weird. Kinda freaky. And I need your help. So could you please stop bagging on me and listen to the rest of our story?" Sky tossed the pizza dough in the air as Andrew grabbed a bowl of tomato sauce and Sawyer a bucket of water to wash off.

Casey sighed. "Fine. Tell the rest of your story."

Sky and Andrew began to spread pizza sauce while Sky told the rest of the tale. "So we waded into the fight and took out the four big guys. The little guy who'd been getting attacked helped some but not much. He was kinda weak. Me and Sawyer, we were trying to keep Andrew from getting hurt but, in the fight, two of the guys sort of separated Andrew from the two of us. I didn't even know Andrew wasn't behind me, where I thought he was, until he screamed. One of the big guys was on top of him, his fist drawn back to punch. There was no way I would have gotten there in time. But then Andrew threw up his hand and this weird green light shot from his hands. It was so bright! It hit the guy in the chest and he musta flown six feet and slammed into the wall. After he hit the ground, he didn't move. The other guy ran. And, Dad, it was crazy because when I turned back around, I'd lost ground to the guy attacking me. He was maybe three inches from my face! I didn't even have time to think; I just pushed both of my hands in front of my face to protect me. The guy threw a right hook that would have nailed my face but it never made it. There was this crazy blue forcefield in front of my face. Like a shield. Then, when I lowered my hands, it was gone. Me and Sawyer, we got rid of the other two guys pretty quick. Isn't that cool, Dad? Huh? Isn't it?"

Hunter handed a pizza through to Jessie and Fran and turned to Andrew. He walked over to the boy and stooped down so their faces were on the same level. "Are you okay? Did it hurt or anything?"

Andrew shook his head. "No. And I can't do it again and I don't know why it happened then. But Sky can do his shield thing whenever he wants."

Sky nodded and waved his hand in front of his face. Instantly, a semi-transparent blue screen appeared in front of him. Casey hesitated and then took a handful of flower. He tossed it gently towards Sky. It never reached him; instead, it impacted the shield and fell to the ground.

"Weird." Casey said. "What about the kid? You said you rescued him? Is he okay?"

Sawyer had washed all the blood from his head and came over, bearing bandages. "Yeah. He said he was from the orphanage and was out on break when the four guys jumped him. Poor kid couldn't have been more than eight. He was freaking out. They'd roughed him up pretty good before we got there and called him names and stuff. I felt really bad for him."

Andrew jumped in to add his two cents. "We tried to get him to come with us and get some pizza but he just kept saying that he had to get a new pair of gloves and he had to get back before something else happened. Then he ran off."

Sky's expression turned sullen. "He didn't even say thank you. And, when I asked, he didn't really want to give me his name. But he did. His name is-"

* Eight Years Later. SPD Headquarters. *

"Bridge Carson!" the brown-haired man shouted, practically jumping out of his seat. "It was me! That was when we first met, remember, Sky?"

Sky smiled. "I _am_ the one telling the story, right, Bridge? I think I remember. But yeah," he said, turning back to face the group at large. "That's when I first met Bridge. I never would have guessed that we would be Power Rangers together. And that was the first time my genetic abilities manifested themselves."

Before anyone else could say anything, a new person entered the room. Clad in a dark blue jumpsuit, the newcomer plopped down without asking if it was okay for him to join. Bridge waved enthusiastically at him.

"Hey, Boom. What's cracking?" Jack asked. "You want to listen to Sky's story? It's pretty tense."

Boom nodded. "Sure!"

Z was frowning as she stared intently at Sky. "So you knew Syd, somehow, some way that you haven't told us about yet and you rescued Bridge but who is this Andrew kid? I thought the five of us were the only ones with genetic powers."

Syd's smile faded away as did Sky's and Bridge's. Sky chose to address the first question before the one that was obviously more sensitive. "Syd is the daughter of Eric and Taylor Meyers, two Power Rangers who were killed by the same Psychos who killed my parents. She was raised by Flynn McAllistar, who also lived in Corinth City. We grew up best friends. Andrew-"

But before Sky could say anything, Boom raised a hand. "Could you maybe sta-"

That was as far as he got before he disappeared.

**Author's Note: Well, I hope it wasn't too bad. I'll probably come back and iron out some kinks but I wanted to get a chapter up. Hope it wasn't too confusing. For those of you confused, if you haven't read **_**Heartbeat**_**, that's why. I recommend at least reading the last two chapters of the 1****st**** Ending so you're not completely lost. **

**Please, read and review! Thanks to those who reviewed the trailer!!!**

**And now, power down. For now.**


	3. Freak

* SPD Headquarters *

No one moved for a second. Then Jack turned to Bridge. "Bridge, what was that? Some kind of new teleporter you two are working on or something? One of your inventions gone wrong? What's the deal?" Jack wasn't accusing him of anything, merely asking for information.

Bridge shook his head. "I haven't been working on anything that would cause Boom to just disappear. He might have been doing something on his own but I don't know, I guess we could check his lab. My guess is it's probably just one of his experiments gone wrong

Syd shrugged. "It's Boom. He'll show up sometime, somewhere. Just go on with the story, Sky. You're getting to the good parts."

Sky wrapped his arm around her shoulder and planted a small kiss on her cheek. "And what part is that, kiddo? The part where we finally got together?"

Syd laughed and shook her head. "No, silly. The reunion part. The part where everything blew up in our faces. The part where you, me and Andrew became a team. Just tell them."

"Shouldn't we call Dr. Manx or something first? Find out what happened to Boom? What if it's something weird? Or what if he just turned invisible and is still in here?" Sky looked at Jack.

Bridge answered instead of Jack. "I can check." He pulled off his glove and waved his hand in front of his face. A second later he looked at Sky. "He's not here. Look, I know Boom. He'll be back. Seriously, Sky, just go on with the story. I swear, he'll show up. Just talk."

Sky laughed. "Okay. It was…"

* Eight Years Earlier. Corinth City. *

…three weeks later. Andrew's weird light thing hadn't come back. My forcefield shield did. All the time. Whenever I moved my hand in front of my face, it was there. I was getting better at controlling it but Casey told me to be careful. He always said there was no telling who might try to take advantage of it and me. So we didn't tell anyone. Only Hunter, Andrew and Sawyer knew. I'd wanted to tell Syd but Casey said that the girl couldn't keep a secret. And the weird kid we'd rescued, Bridge. He knew. But no one else. And then, my Dad made an announcement.

"We're having a five year reunion." He said at breakfast one morning. I was eating Cheerios. He was having, oh, you don't care. Anyway. I didn't hear him at first but after he repeated himself, I asked, "Who? Like family?"

He kinda cocked his head to the side before nodding. "Yeah, kinda. All the surviving Rangers and their kids are coming here for a get-together. It'll be fun. Right?" Casey looked like he didn't know if I would agree. Like he was scared I'd protest or throw a fit.

I just shrugged. "You mean like Rachel and Jackson and those other kids we never see? Carson and Connor and Thomas? Lee? What's so great about that? I don't even know them, not really." I kept eating. You don't care.

Dad sighed. "Yes, them. Zhane is coming with Rachel, Jackson, Anna and Carleigh from Angel Grove. Kira and Xander are bringing Carson, Connor, Lee and Thomas from Reefside. Ryan and little Ryan are coming from Mariner Bay with Jake. Flynn, Syd and Shay are already here. So are Hunter, Andrew and Tori. Jessie's here too. Come on, Sky, what's the deal? It'll be fun."

I shook my head. "Dad," I said, around a mouthful of Cheerios. Then I lowered my voice. "What if they find out about you-know-what? They'll think I'm a freak. They'll call me a freak. I don't want to be called a freak."

My Dad started to laugh. That made me mad. It wasn't very funny to me. "That's what you're worried about?" He asked in between heaving gasps for air. "That they'll think you're a freak? Lemme tell you something, kiddo. Zhane isn't even from Earth. Ryan was once an evil Ranger for a demon. Hunter nearly killed the Wind Rangers. Kira's a freak – when she screams, she knocks people out. Literally. Xander can do magic. Flynn and I are pretty much the only normal ones here. And we're not that normal. They're not gonna call you a freak."

I rolled my eyes. "Not the adults, Dad. The kids. They'll call me a freak and won't want to hang out with me. Then who will I play with?"

Casey stopped laughing and reached across the table to set his hand on top of mine. "Andrew knows and he doesn't make fun of you, does he?" I shook my head. "And neither does Sawyer. So if other people make fun of you, don't give them the time of day! Play with your real friends. But I honestly don't think it will be a problem."

I didn't complain or argue anymore and didn't worry about it until three days later, the day of the reunion. JKP was closed and Jessie, Hunter, Dad and I spent two hours in the morning making pizzas and cleaning up. The first guests showed up at about eleven. A tall woman with dirty blonde hair walked in with an equally tall man wearing a green shirt and dark jeans. The woman carried a little boy on her hip. A boy who looked about Andrew's age chased a slightly younger looking girl, while another boy – who looked the oldest – watched. Casey greeted the group enthusiastically.

"Kira! Xander! It's so good to see you guys! Man, your kids have gotten so much bigger. And who's this?" Dad asked, tickling the little boy in the stomach. The kid giggled.

"This is Thomas Nicholas Bly. Our first." Kira looked lovingly at Xander. It made me want to gag.

Hunter walked in from the kitchen and greeted the family. Xander punched him in the shoulder and asked, "Where are your kids? Don't you have two now?"

"I do. Andrew's nine – that's Blake and Tori's son. And then, three years ago, I adopted Tori. They're coming with Flynn and the girls. In fact, they should be here any minute." Hunter motioned to a booth. "You guys want to sit down?"

They sat and Casey joined them. I stood off to the side by myself. A few minutes later, the little dark-haired boy who'd been chasing the girl came over to stand beside me. "Hi. I'm Lee." He said suddenly. "I'm almost ten."

I smiled, despite myself. "I'm Sky. I'm twelve. Nice to meet you. That your Mommy and Daddy?" I asked, pointing to Kira and Xander. Lee shook his head.

"Not really. Xander was my Dad's best friend. Kira's his wife. My parents died when I was a baby. I don't even really remember them anymore, even when I try really hard." He smiled sadly.

"Same here. Casey adopted me though. We're tight, me and him. So you're not really related to any of those kids?"

Lee shook his head again. "Nope. Not Carson and Connor – they're Kira's kids from her first husband, Trent. But Tommy is Kira and Xander's first kid. So he's Carson and Connor's half-brother. Me, I'm the odd one out."

I smiled. "I didn't know that. I always thought the four of you were Kira's and Xander's kids. I mean, you guys do look alike, you know? Thought it was just my Dad and Hunter who had 'adopted' kids, so to speak."

"Nope. A lot of us are adopted. Just watch as the rest get here. You'll see."

Lee and I joined in on a game of Riddle-Me-This, Xander's attempt to get the older kids to quiet down. We were hard at work on a difficult riddle when another man came in, a girl of about ten skipping along beside him. A boy who looked to be about my age came in. Casey greeted him enthusiastically.

"Ryan! What's going on, man? How's life in the deep blue sea?" Casey bent down and gave the little girl a hug. Then he shook the boy's hand.

Ryan shrugged. "Nothing much. Jake here is busy learning the ropes of Lightspeed Rescue and Ryan is working hard in school. My Dad is developing some new technology he won't tell anyone about. Same old, same old. What about you guys? Anything big happening in Corinth City?"

I hadn't seen the Mitchells in a long time and I had forgotten about Ryan's eye. My Dad had told me the story time and again but, seeing the long scar and the eye patch made me wince. I couldn't seem to tear my eyes away from the sight. I knew there hadn't been a chance to save Ryan's eye because they'd been in hiding at the time. Luckily, Mr. Mitchell didn't see me staring. His niece, who was named for him, ran off with Connor as the door swung open again and another man came in, with four kids.

Ryan shook hands with the new man and then pulled him into a hug, slapping him on the back. "Zhane! Long time, no see, buddy. You don't call, you don't write. No e-mail. What's the deal with that, man? You don't like us anymore?"

Zhane laughed. Two girls stood nearby, girls I had never seen before. To me, they looked maybe a year older than I was. A boy hung back behind them, another girl slightly younger than the first two stood beside him. "You know that's not it. We've just been busy." He glanced at the four kids who weren't making any move to join the game of freeze tag that Connor and Ryan were busy starting. Then he turned back to the adult Ryan, Casey and Hunter, who had joined the little group. "You guys remember Jason and Kim's kids, right? Anna and Carleigh?" he laid a hand on each of their shoulders. "They're thirteen now, hitting those fun teenage years, right, girls?" Anna rolled her eyes. Zhane laughed and stepped back beside the other girl and the boy. "This is my son, Jackson and my daughter, Rachel. Why don't you guys go play with the other kids?"

Jackson shrugged. "I don't want to play freeze tag. That's a kid's game."

Zhane smacked him lightly on the shoulder. "Then go hang with Sky and Lee. They're not playing freeze tag."

I had zoned out of the conversation but rejoined it now. I nodded and approached Jackson, my hand out to shake. Since I hadn't seen the kid in five years, and I'd only been seven the last time I saw him, I figured I would reintroduce myself. "I'm Schuyler Tate. But you can call me Sky." I jerked my thumb towards Lee, who was standing behind me. "That's Lee. He's Kira and Xander's adopted son, you know. And my best friend, Andrew, will be here soon. He was working on something with Flynn this morning. You can hang out with us, if you want."

Jackson took my hand and shook it. Then Lee, Jackson and I went and sat in a booth. We started talking and were deep in a conversation about the new police headquarters going up in the city next to Corinth when the last of the "family" showed up. Flynn came in, looking like he'd recently scrubbed. I noticed a spot of grease on his chin that he'd missed. It made me laugh. The two girls he'd adopted after the defeat of Venjix followed him, one holding a little blonde girl on her hip. Andrew came straight over to the booth where we were sitting.

"Finally!" Hunter exclaimed. "I was waiting for my little girl to get here!" He stepped over to Syd and took the little girl from her. Then he turned to Xander. "This is Tori. I adopted her three years ago as a kind of tribute to Andrew's mom, Tori, who was like a little sister to me. Since then, I have never been more overjoyed to have her in my life. There's never a boring moment around our house, is there, Andrew?" He turned to us.

Andrew nodded. He seemed kind of distracted and kept glancing at the windows. Hunter turned back to Flynn. "Well, Flynn, we're glad you finally got here. Everyone else is dying to hear the story of how you ended up with Eric's kids officially." He turned his head slightly to look at Casey. "Why didn't you have this idea sooner, Rhodes? It feels like it's been forever since we've had everyone together!"

Flynn laughed. "Hunter, it's been five years. To you, that is forever." The Scot smiled and laid his hands on the two girls' shoulders. "You guys know Sydney and Shay Meyers, right? Long story short, Princess Shayla had to go back to sleep to keep the Animarium in the air and safe so they came to stay with me. But we do visit every now and then or the Q-Rex and the Eaglezord get lonely. And now that they're twelve, they're helping me with the plans for Newtech City's specially trained police squad."

Casey grinned. "Sometimes I can't tear Sky away from Flynn's garage. The kid better watch out, too, or McAllistar will recruit him to his new task force!"

Everyone laughed as Syd came over to join us. She squeezed into the booth beside me and Lee. Andrew and Jackson were facing us. We started talking about different things. Jackson was telling us about the new library he and his Dad were helping to build in Angel Grove. Then Lee broke in and told us about the new spells he was learning in his wizard training.

"That's so cool. I want to be a wizard." Andrew said, grinning. "But not as much as I want to be a Thunder Ninja like my Uncle and my Dad. And maybe learn some of the Water technique like my Mom."

I didn't want to interrupt but I had to ask Casey something. So I got Syd and Lee to let me out and I started across the pizza parlor. Maybe I'd made it halfway to my Dad when a loud _**crash**_ echoed through the room. I stopped in my tracks and time seemed to slow as a large, round metal object flew into the room, through the window. The window shattered and shards of glass spiraled into our restaurant. Most fell to the ground just inside the window. Two did not.

I didn't worry about the second piece. I only had eyes for the first jagged shard. In the space of one heartbeat, I gauged its trajectory and looked to see where it would land. Then I saw Tori. The little girl, my best friend's little sister, sat on the floor, playing with a metal toy. The glass triangle would slice into her head. No one was close enough to get between the girl and the glass. No one but me.

There was no time to think about what would happen to me if I got slashed by the triangle. Only time to react. A corner of my mind registered Kira's scream, Flynn shouting, Hunter running, but I focused on only one thing: throwing myself in front of Tori. So I did.

I leapt. Saw my leap wouldn't take me far enough. Glimpsed the glass twirling through the air. Tucked into a roll as I hit the ground. Came to my feet in front of Tori. Pushed her behind me. Looked back to see the glass mere inches from my chest. Knew it would hit me right where my heart was. So I did the only thing I thought, I hoped would save me.

I waved my hand in front of my face. Instantly, seconds before the glass reached me, a transparent blue shield was there. The glass hit the shield and bounced harmlessly to the ground. At the same time, out of a corner of my eye, I saw a flash of green light. Then I knew where the second piece of glass had ended up.

Hunter reached us and scooped Tori up. She was crying. He settled her on his hip and whispered softly to her, trying to calm her down. Then he shot a significant look at me. Everything was silent and I could feel everyone looking at me. Well, not everyone.

Someone stepped up beside me. I glanced to my left. Andrew stood there, his face pale. He was looking behind us. Slowly, I turned around to see Jackson and Rachel, Anna and Carleigh, Ryan, Carson, Jake and Shay staring at us. Syd still sat in the booth, looking at her hands. Lee remained in his seat beside her.

"What happened over there?" I hissed to Andrew. I looked for my Dad and saw him standing at the side of the room, next to Jessie. He gave me a reassuring smile. Zhane and Ryan stood beside him, their faces devoid of emotion.

"Piece of glass coming right for Syd. She had a metal fork in her hand. Her hand turned into metal or something. But she didn't do anything to stop the glass. I burned it out of the sky." Andrew whispered back.

Ry took a step back, away from the two of us. Jake slid over so that he was partly in front of her. "What did you do?" he asked accusingly. "What was that freaky green light? And the blue wall? What's wrong with you two?" They obviously hadn't seen Syd's transformation.

I looked pleadingly at my Dad, but he was engaged in conversation with Kira, gesturing wildly. His face was a mask of anger. Xander and Ryan were behind her, both with their arms crossed over their chests. Hunter was still comforting Tori, who continued to cry but Flynn had moved to stand beside Casey. Zhane hadn't moved from near the counter but I could tell he was watching everyone like a hawk. So I turned back to face Jackson and the others.

"We don't know what these powers are but I'd say they came in handy today, don't you think?" I tried to joke, hoping to put Jake at ease. He didn't crack a smile; his expression didn't even change. "I mean, did you see that glass? It almost killed Tori! Wasn't my shield kinda cool?" My voice trailed off at the end of my sentence when I saw that no one was laughing with me.

Jackson pointed a finger at me. "You're a freak, Collins. Normal people can't make shields appear out of midair."

Jake's voice was getting louder and louder. "And you, Bradley! You're an even bigger freak. Fire coming out of your hands?" He was shouting now, his yells mingling somewhat with Kira yelling at Casey and Tori's sobbing. "You could have killed someone! You could have set someone on fire!"

Andrew shouted back, "But I didn't! I saved her! If I hadn't burned that glass, it would have sliced her!" He looked at Shay. "Shay, come on! You don't think I'm a freak, do you? I'm your friend, Sky's your friend!"

Shay looked at Jake and Jackson then shook her head. "Sorry, Andrew. But that wasn't normal."

Andrew started to cry. And that's when I lost it. This was my best friend. We'd grown up together. What made me sad was that Ryan, the girl we'd grown up with on the Aquabase, was with those who were against us. But I was done letting these other kids walk all over us and make fun of him.

I really didn't even think about what I was doing. I just raised my hands in front of my face. My shield appeared in midair. Then I shoved my hands away from me and my shield slammed into Jackson and Jake, throwing them back and to the ground. The blue forcefield faded away and I slammed my fists onto my hips.

"You just shut up! He saved Syd's life! I saved Tori's life! We're heroes!" I shouted.

Jackson got to his feet as his sister, Rachel, rushed forward to help him. She stared daggers at me. "You know what, Sky? My Dad talks about your dad, Wes, and how great a guy he was. He talks about how Wes was a hero. Well, you know what, Sky? You're not a hero and you're not like your Dad. You're a freak. A real, bona fide freak. So why don't you just keep your hands down."

I backed up a step, pulling Andrew with me. He was still crying, his shoulders shaking. Jake and Jackson were walking towards us, their hands balled into fists and fierce expressions on their faces. But before they could make it over to us, Zhane, Ryan and Kira stepped between us. Zhane looked meaningfully at Jackson.

"Can it, Jackson." He said, putting his hand on his son's shoulder.

Kira grabbed Connor's hand and motioned for Lee and Carson to follow her. "Come on, kids, we're leaving." She threw a look back over her shoulder at Casey. "Sorry, Casey. But I can't stay, not when you're going to try and cover things up and make excuses." Pulling Connor and Carson behind her, she headed for the door and left the pizza parlor without a backwards glance.

Xander looked helplessly at Casey. "Nothing I can do, buddy. This is big and Kir's freaked. You know how it is. I'll…well, I'll call you." He turned to Lee. "Lee, come on. We gotta go."

Lee slid out of the booth and passed by me as he walked out with Xander. "I don't think you're a freak. I'll call you," he whispered as he left.

After that, it was like everyone was rushing to get out of there. Zhane, Jackson, Rachel, Anna and Carleigh followed on the heels of Kira and Xander. Ryan took his niece and Jake and walked out after them. Finally, it was just Casey, me, Hunter, Andrew, Tori, Jess and Flynn and the girls left. Shay wouldn't meet my eyes; she just sat in a booth and rested her chin on her hands.

I looked at Casey. "See? Told you I was a freak." Then I stormed out, Andrew right beside me. I could hear my Dad calling after me but there were tears on my face now too. I didn't know where I was going but I knew that I just had to get away from there.

My Dad told me later that he cleaned up all the glass and found the metal ball that someone had thrown through the window. There was no indication of where it had come from. But from that point on, nothing was the same.

* Eight Years Later. SPD Headquarters. *

Sky sat back and rested his hands on his knees. "Neat, huh? Everyone turned on us from that point on. Shay eventually came around, especially when things turned much worse. But the other kids, they never looked at us the same way again. And then, well…" He looked at Syd.

"When they found out I was a freak too, they were even more upset. My own sister didn't want to hang out with me anymore. But then we met-"

The sudden beeping of a nearby com console interrupted them. Jack pressed the intercom button. "Landors. What's up, Commander?"

Commander Cruger's voice was on the other end of the link. "Rangers, have you seen Dr. Manx? She was supposed to meet me here but she's fifteen minutes late and that's not like her. I tried contacting Boom to see if they were working on something that would cause her to be late but he's not answering either."

Bridge spoke up. "Boom was with us but he disappeared. We assumed he was working on something new, some kind of teleporter."

Cruger sighed. "Rangers, something isn't right. Come to-" Suddenly, he fell silent.

Jack looked at Sky. "Commander? Commander, what's going on? Is everything all right?"

Sky stood, yanked his jacket off the back of his seat and threw it on. "Something's going on. We gotta get to the command center and see if Cruger is all right. Then we figure out what's going on."

He strode from the room, the other Rangers hot on his heels. No one noticed the glowing light following them.

**Author's Note; Did you like it? I hope so. Please review so I know you're reading! Thanks to lissaxsuee, Lina, Ms. Fairweather and GemmaUzumaki for reviewing!! You guys are awesome!!**


	4. Attack

Sky raced down the hallway on Jack's heels. Bridge and Syd ran on either side of him and Z brought up the rear. As they ran, Sky thought on the story he hadn't finished telling. From the point where he'd left off, the story only got weirder. And now, try as he might to focus on figuring out what was going out with first Boom, then Kat and now Cruger, he couldn't. His brain was slipping away and away and he couldn't hold on to it. His memories caught up with him and his body went on autopilot, staying close behind Jack, even as he was swept up on the tide of yesteryear.

*** Eight Years Earlier. Corinth City. ***

It had been a week since I'd saved Tori and freaked everyone out. No one had called to apologize for running out. And Syd still hadn't talked to anyone about her powers. Shay wouldn't give me or Andrew the time of day. Only Tori was still the same around us. Tori and Hunter and Flynn. Hunter had bought me five new movies because of what I'd done for the man's daughter. But I didn't want DVD's. I didn't want my Dad to tell him I was a hero or how brave I was. I didn't want to be different! That was why I was on my way to see Bridge at the orphanage.

Andrew walked beside me as we ambled down the streets of Corinth City. We had become closer and closer and since "the incident," we hung out nearly 24/7. Andrew walked with his head down. If I had been hurt deeply by our friends' rejections, Andrew had been crushed. The kid cared so much about what other people thought about him. He didn't take kindly to people calling him a freak.

"Why are we going to see Bridge again?" Andrew glanced at his friend. The whole excursion had been my idea.

"We're going to see Bridge because I want to. I want to know why he ran off so quickly after we saved his butt. And I just want to do something normal, okay? Is that too much to ask? All we've done for the past six days is mope around JKP or the Ninja school. I'm tired of making pizzas, I'm tired of trying to find my inner Ninja. So let's just find Bridge and go catch a movie." I didn't want to be angry at Andrew but I was pretty much angry at everyone lately.

The other day I'd asked my Dad why Kira and Xander had left the reunion. I'd pointed out the fact that Kira had freaky dino powers and Xander could do magic, so why did mine and Andrew's powers freak them out so much? Casey told me that it wasn't the powers that made them freak out. It was the fact that he hadn't told them his son had weird powers. And the fact that Andrew's fire really could have hurt someone if he hadn't had control over it. Casey had told me, swore to me, that it wasn't my fault the reunion had broken up and everyone had been scared. He said that they just needed some time to think about it and realize that it wasn't really any different from what they themselves possessed.

Now I kicked a rock and it skittered across the asphalt until it hit something solid and came to a stop. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that the rock had skipped up against a shoe. I followed the foot to the leg and then up the body to the smiling face of a brown-haired boy.

"Hi!" Bridge said. He held a piece of toast in his left hand and was waving with his other. I noticed that both hands were gloved. "What are you guys doing here? I haven't seen you for a while, I thought you'd forgotten about me."

Andrew grinned broadly. I frowned. "We met you once and for like four minutes after we saved you from a serious butt-kicking. And you ran away pretty quickly. You didn't even want to tell us your name. Why would you assume we've come looking for you?" I knew my words were harsh and I saw Andrew glance at me, surprise in his face, but I kept my own face blank. I needed a good explanation before I agreed to become best buddies with this eight-year-old kid.

Bridge just kept smiling. Then, almost reverently, he thrust the rest of his bread into his mouth and pulled off his right glove. Staring directly at me, he waved his hand in front of his face. A ghostly green glow trailed after the passing of his palm. He didn't speak for a moment. When he did, there was no denying the excitement in his voice.

"I like your aura. You're brave and loyal. Honest and hard-working. Completely dedicated to justice. We're gonna be good friends." I still didn't look convinced so Bridge stuck out his still-gloved hand. "Let's start over, kay? I'm Bridge Carson. Thank you for saving me the other day. Those bullies took my gloves and I accidentally touched one. When my hand makes contact with another person, we kind of exchange memories. And thoughts. Sometimes. But he didn't like that and so they tried to beat me up. So thank you for helping me."

I shook his hand and let a small grin onto my face. "Schuyler Tate. Sky. Nice to meet you, Bridge. And you're welcome. This is Andrew Bradley. We were actually on our way to find you, see if you want to hang out. You wanna go see how the headquarters in Newtech City's coming along? We know the head of the program and we can get in. Easy."

Andrew nodded. "My Uncle Hunter and Sky's Dad, Casey, were Power Rangers who took out Venjix. And the guy who is running the new police program, Flynn McAllistar, was with them. He's the blue RPM Ranger. He lets us help him. I'm gonna go to his Academy one day."

Bridge nodded enthusiastically. "Sure! I have an hour before I have to be back at the orphanage anyway, so this will be fun! Let's go."

Andrew and I led the way as Bridge followed close behind, chattering on and on about life in the orphanage. They walked for about fifteen minutes before getting close to the old RPM base. I stopped them just outside of the garage and turned to Bridge.

"This is the old RPM base. It hasn't been used since the defeat of Venjix but Flynn is using it now for a base of operations in his new programs. Plus, he, Shay and Syd live here. You don't know Syd and Shay but they're our friends. They're Ranger kids too. Pretty much everyone we hang out with are Ranger kids." Andrew shrugged.

I shook my head. "Except for the ones who hate us. Which, if you remember, Shay isn't our favorite person right now. She thinks we're freaks remember, Andrew? And Syd won't tell her she has powers because she doesn't want her sister to hate her. So Syd won't hang out with us anymore either. Doesn't want people to look at her differently. Probably a smart choice, huh? Look where people knowing about our powers got us, right, Andrew?" I didn't notice Andrew's attention was focused on something else as I plowed on with my discourse. "What about you, Bridge? You ever get called a freak? No, really, I want to know."

Andrew interrupted. "Sky." I ignored him and focused on Bridge, who was ready to answer my question. He used hand gestures while he talked, which I thought was weird. "They did when I was younger. Before I realized gloves blocked the psychic connection. Now I wear gloves and newcomers to the orphanage don't know about my powers. It's just the older kids like the bullies from the other day that know."

It was only then that I realized Andrew was gesturing wildly, trying to get my attention.

"What, Andrew? What is it?" I looked where he was pointing and saw four people walking towards us. I squinted and sighed when I saw who they were. Connor and Lee were walking a pace behind Syd and Shay. I threw a glance at Andrew. What are those two doing in Corinth City? Shouldn't they be in Reefside with their Mommy and Daddy and brothers?" My tone was dripping with sarcasm.

Andrew looked at Bridge. The boy was looking between the two of us, clearly confused. "Those are Ranger kids who aren't really anxious to be friends with freaks. Except Lee," he amended, "he's trying to stay impartial. The blonde girl has freaky powers too, though we don't know what they are, not really. The other two don't want to have anything to do with us."

They were close enough now that I could see they didn't look too happy to see us, with the possible exception of Lee. Syd looked sick to her stomach. She'd tried to apologize for not sticking up for us at JKP but I wouldn't listen, not until she agreed to stand by us now. She said she couldn't do that because Shay wouldn't talk to her if her sister found out she was a freak. We hadn't talked since. Shay looked like she'd swallowed a lemon. Connor was scowling, an unbecoming expression on her cute, pixie-like face.

We met in the middle of the road. Me, Andrew and Bridge opposite Shay, Syd, Connor and Lee. I stared at Connor and tried to make my voice as calm as I could.

"Hey. What are you two doing in Corinth City? And where's Carson? Didn't you go back to Reefside with your parents?"

Connor shrugged. "That's none of your business, freak."

Bridge stirred beside me. I motioned for him to be quiet. These had been my friends, before any of this ever happened. "What's the big deal, Con? What happened to the days when your parents visited us and you and I went to the zoo or that time we borrowed Flynn's Jeep and went to the practice ring to fight Grinders? Or remember the time you and Kira came to visit Casey and Hunter and we took Hunter's motorcycle for a spin? What happened to all of that?"

Andrew nodded. "Yeah, Shay, Lee. Lee, we lived together for five years in the Aquabase and now you're gonna turn on us? Just because we have some weird powers we can't control? Where's the justice in that? We didn't ask for this. It just happened."

Lee shook his head and started to answer but Shay beat him to it. "But why did you hide it from us? You say we're friends but you don't tell us about it until my sister nearly has her head burned to a cinder?"

I opened my mouth to respond but a new voice cut me off. The voice was high and cold. "Awww, fighting among the ranks? That's so sad to see, especially you, Sky. You've always been such a stickler for the rules. Never bending. It's too bad, really, 'cause I can predict your every move, making this no fun at all." The voice laughed.

I spun, noticing with a corner of my mind Andrew and Bridge doing the same thing. Instinctively, I fell into a fighting stance, reminiscent of my Spirit Animal, the Panther. Andrew was adopting a Thunder Ninja stance, something Hunter had recently taught him. Bridge had his fists up. I didn't much care what was going on with Shay and the others behind me. My attention was on the man before us.

He was tall and shrouded in a dark cloak. All I could see was his chin under his hood. His hands were fists at his side. Four smaller figures crouched at his feet. They looked like dogs to me but I couldn't be sure. Shaking slightly, I pointed my finger at him. "Who are you and what do you want?" I asked angrily.

The man laughed again. "You don't remember me? Silas? Your old buddy? Well, I'm hurt, Tate. I thought we were friends."

I shook my head quickly from side to side. "I don't know you, pal, but you didn't answer my other question. What. Do. You. Want." I separated each word from the preceding one, trying to make my voice was intimidating as I could.

He hesitated for just a second before raising a hand and pointing behind me. "I want him. For now, just him." I followed his finger to see Lee squirming slightly as the man speared him with a sneer.

Andrew laughed himself, trying to infuse bravado into his tone. "Oh yeah? Well, he's our friend and you can't have him!!"

The others echoed his statement but the man just chuckled. "Fine. Then the rest of you, if you get in the way, will die. Accolitti, attack!"

The four dog-like creatures leapt forward, teeth bared as their master swept a hand forward. I made a split-second call. "Lee, stay with Connor and the girls! Syd, go get Flynn! We'll take care of this!" There was no way I wanted a nine-year-old and an eight-year-old putting their lives at risk fighting, but there was no other choice. The man wanted Lee and I'd be darned if I left that happen. So hopefully, having Connor, Shay and Syd "guard" him would keep the three girls out of trouble and keep Lee safe.

"Flynn's in Newtech City! And I can help!" Syd shouted back but there was no time for me to do more than shake my head. We were on our own.

And then they were on top of us! Two dogs leapt at me, another at Bridge and the fourth at Andrew. I employed my shield in front of the first dog and it kept him at bay while the other jumped on me, biting and slicing with its claws. I twisted but its right front paw dug a long furrow from my cheek to my forehead. Howling in pain, I spun around and nailed a kick into its midsection. The attack didn't even faze it. The creature gathered its legs under it and sprang towards my face. Its teeth sank into my shoulder and I struggled to get it off of me, feeling skin tearing and intense pain radiating throughout my body.

For just a second, I caught a glimpse of Andrew falling under the teeth and claws of a blue-furred creature. I saw Bridge kicking and screaming. And I saw the last beast, the one I had had trapped behind my shield, break free and run towards the girls and Lee. At the same time, I saw the man, the man I had forgotten about in the frenzy, sneaking up behind Lee.

"WATCH-" I started to scream but then the dog was clawing at my face. I couldn't see anything. There was just one thing I knew to do. Reaching deep inside myself, I summoned my Animal Spirit. The blue panther burst out of my chest and batted its paws at the creature.

Simultaneously, a brilliant burst of green light lit the area. I turned as my panther forced the creature attacking me back and saw Andrew burning the fur off of the beast on top of Bridge. Then he turned, his green fire getting brighter and brighter, and slammed the twin beams full-force into the dog. Two things happened at once. The dog was set on fire and ran, screaming. And Andrew disappeared. There was a bright flash of green light, brighter than his flames, and he was gone.

But I had no time to dwell on that right then; I had to get to Lee. Then I heard the screaming. Connor, shouting one word over and over. "Lee! Lee! Lee!" I climbed to my feet, blood pouring from my shoulder, my face and my chest. I was barely aware of the fact that Bridge was also clambering unsteadily to his feet, blood completely covering his face. I couldn't tell, but from the way he was swaying, I wagered he was hurting in more places than just his face.

Right then, I had more on my mind than Bridge, terrible as that sounds. Connor was on her knees, hands clenched over her chest. Blood leaked from between her fingers. There were numerous cuts and gashes that I could see on her face. Syd and Shay hovered over her as she screamed for her brother. Lee was gone as well.

I stumbled over to the three girls and knelt down beside Connor. "Connor, where's Lee? Where's Lee, Connor?"

She looked up at me and I was struck by the blood on her face. It seemed to be everywhere. Her face was pale. "The man took him, Sky. Sky…I don't…feel good…help me, Sky…I'm sorry." And then, slowly, painfully slow, she fell over onto the ground, her eyes closed and she didn't move.

I looked up at Syd and Shay. Tears raced each other down Syd's face. "The dog, it attacked her. The man, he took Lee. Sky, what are we going to do?"

"Get her to Casey and Hunter before it's too late. Shay, you have to do something very brave, okay?" The brown-haired girl nodded, refusing to meet my eyes. I spoke quickly, as quickly as I could. Blood ran into my mouth and I gagged, then spit my words out like they were burning my throat. "Go to Newtech City. I know Flynn has Summer's motorcycle in the garage and I know you know how to operate it. Go get Flynn. Ok? Bring him here. See if you can call Kira. Go!" I shouted the last word and Shay bolted, running back the way they'd come as if her life depended on it. But it wasn't hers, it was Connor's.

Just then, Bridge moaned. "Sky, I can't walk on my own. I hurt, my legs, they hurt."

"Sky, help him to JKP. It's not far. I'll take Connor and meet you guys there. Hurry!" I leaned down and scooped the girl up in my arms. My limbs protested at the exertion and I thought I could feel my leg going numb. But I started walking, then broke into a jog and then a run. Connor was heavy but I was running on adrenaline now. My feet pounded the pavement. Blood flowed in a trail behind us, though from me or her or both, I didn't know. All I knew was that when I finally saw JKP in the distance, my heart literally leaped for joy.

I reached the front door of the parlor just as someone was coming out. "Hold that door!" I shouted. The man looked at me strangely but did so and I blew through. In less than five seconds, I scanned the front room and didn't see my Dad or Hunter. But I did see Jessie and Sawyer and Jessie saw me.

"Sky! What…what's going on? What happened to you?" Jess asked, concern on her face.

"No…time. Dad? Hunter?" I gasped, completely winded.

She pointed towards the back and I staggered across the restaurant, ignoring the revolted looks from customers and pushed through the swinging doors. My Dad and Hunter were both in the kitchen, making pizzas. I stood, inside the door, as the two men gaped at me.

"We were attacked…Syd coming with Bridge…he's hurt bad. They…took Lee and Andrew disappeared…sorr…" That was as far as I got before I lost it and fell to the ground. I couldn't even hold onto consciousness anymore and plummeted into the deep pit of darkness. My last thought was hope that Connor would be okay and worry for Lee and Andrew.

*** Eight Years Later. SPD Headquarters. ***

Sky was jerked from his memories as the Rangers pounded into the command center. Neither Cruger nor Kat were in there. Jack looked at Sky. "What do you think is going on?" he asked his second in command.

But Sky didn't get a chance to respond. Before he could, Z was gone. No poof, no green light, no puff of smoke. Just, one second she was there, next to Bridge, and the next, she was gone. Bridge gaped at where she had been standing. Sky looked from the empty space to Jack.

"Something bad is going on. Something real bad. We need information." Jack said.

Sky nodded. "But where are we going to get that?"

"Uh…guys?" Bridge said. "Guys, there's some kind of light thing over here. I don't know what it is or if it's friendly." Slowly, the other three turned to face in the same direction as Bridge. Sure enough, there was some kind of floating light in the corner of the command center. Jack took a step towards it.

And then, before any of the Rangers could say anything, a voice came from the light. "It's ok. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help you. I need to talk to Sky."

Now everyone looked at Sky and he shrugged. This was new to him too…

**Author's Note: Please read and review! Thanks!**


	5. Force from the Future

I could see the light. It was above me, than beside me and then behind me. But I knew one thing; if I could just reach the light, I would be okay. At least I would wake up. And that had to be better than nothing, right? So I fought and I shoved against the dark clouds blocking me from the light. Finally, after what seemed like hours to me, I burst out of the darkness and was able to figure out where I was.

The room was white and there were four heads in my field of vision. One I recognized as my Dad. The second was blonde and, after second, I recognized Andrew's father, Hunter. Both of the other two faces belonged to men. Flynn leaned over me from the left and Xander from the right. I had no idea why all four of them were here; in fact, I couldn't remember why I was in a white room in the first place.

All of a sudden, I felt an itch on my cheek. Without thinking, I raised my hand to scratch. Instantly, a loud, unearthly shriek filled the air. At the same time, a jolt of pain rushed up my arm but my brain was still too groggy to put two and two together. Instead, I just continued to try and reach the itch. The scream got louder and now Flynn and Casey were moving. Flynn grabbed my arm and shoved it down onto the bed. Casey put his face right in front of mine and spoke in a quiet, soothing voice.

"Sky, you gotta lie still, kid. You're hurt bad, don't move, okay? Come on, Sky, calm down." Casey placed his hand on my stomach and smiled but I could tell his smile was forced.

But I followed his advice and lay still, staring up at the four adults. "What…what happened, Dad? Where am I? What's going on?"

"You don't remember?" Hunter asked. I shook my head. "You came running into JKP, bleeding from multiple scratches and gashes on your face. Bleeding from your shoulder and other places. And carrying Connor, who was hurt worse than you. You passed out and have been unconscious for two days."

"Connor? Is she okay?" I still couldn't remember anything of what Hunter was talking about. I didn't know why I would have tried to save Connor after she had turned on me and Andrew. But obviously, I had.

Hunter looked over at Xander, who nodded. Then the Australian Ranger looked back at me. "She's scratched up pretty bad and ended up having to have a kidney removed. After a while, she might need plastic surgery to repair some of the scars on her face. But she'll survive."

A thought hit me. I remembered where I'd been going that morning, the morning they said I'd been hurt. Me and Andrew had been going to meet Bridge. So had they been attacked too? Who all had been hurt? I swiveled my head to look at Casey. "Dad, what about Andrew and Bridge? Are they okay?"

Casey didn't look like he wanted to answer my question but he did anyway. Part of it. "Bridge and Syd came in soon after you. Bridge's legs were torn to pieces. He looked like a dog had gotten ahold of him and ripped him up."

FLASH!

Memory. _Bridge. Moaning, doubled over. "Sky, I can't walk on my own. I hurt, my legs, they hurt."_

_ Me. Looking at Syd. "Syd, help him to JKP. It's not far."_

_ FLASH!_

Casey was looking at me strangely. "Casey? You okay, kiddo?"

I nodded. "I'm remembering. Bridge…he was hurt really bad. Couldn't walk. Syd helped him to Jungle Karma. I carried Connor. I remember." Not all of it, not yet. But I knew it would come back, maybe a little bit at a time, but it would all come back.

Xander looked about ready to jump out of his skin. "Then where is Lee? You have to know! Syd doesn't and Shay and Connor but you must, Sky! You were the oldest, you should have protected him! Where is he?"

_FLASH!_

_ Dogs all around me. One, held back by my forcefield. Another, biting my shoulder. Bridge, fighting. Andrew burning his green light. Then I saw it. The dog I'd shielded, free, leaping for Connor. The man, the man I'd forgotten about in the heat of the battle, sneaking towards Lee. _

_ Bright flash of green light. Andrew, gone. Bridge, on the ground. Connor, screaming and bleeding. Lee, gone. Syd and Shay, staring at me, like I would make the decision. Where was Andrew? Where was Lee?_

_ FLASH!_

"Andrew!" I shouted. I wanted to flail around, wanted to hit someone, but Flynn still held my arm down and I remembered the pain that had come with the first movement I'd made. Instead, I focused my gaze on Hunter. "Andrew, did you find him? Where is he?"

Hunter looked confused. "He's fine. He's in the waiting room, wanting to talk to you. It's Lee whose missing. Do you know where he is?"

I shook my head. "Andrew, he just disappeared. But the man, it was the man who took Lee. I tried to stop him but his dog creatures were all over me." I looked up at Xander and whispered, "I know you and Kira and everyone think I'm a freak. I know you don't like me and don't trust me or my Dad because I can make forcefields come through my hands but I did try to protect your kids, I promise. I did the best I could. I'm sorry."

Xander visibly sagged. I could see that some traces of hope had remained while I'd been in a coma and now I'd dashed it all. All of it was gone because of me. But, still, he looked at me with a trace of earnestness in his expression. "Syd said the man said he knew you, Sky. If you knew him, you have to tell us. Maybe we can use the connection to find him and find Lee."

I blinked a few times before answering. "I know he said he knew me. He said he could predict my every move. But I'd never seen him before in my life. Plus, he said his name was Silas. I don't know anyone named Silas. I swear."

Casey smiled at me. "It's okay, Sky. No one is blaming you. We just wanted to know if you knew."

Xander turned to Flynn. "This is a dead end, as I'm sure we can all see. I'm out of here. I have to find Lee." And with that, he almost ran from the room. Flynn, with a shrug, followed him. Casey looked at Hunter.

"Did Andrew still want to come in here?" Casey asked. Hunter nodded and left to get the boy. Casey grinned down at me. "Well, Sky, you just chill for a while. You're a hero, you know. The doctors say that if Connor had gotten here any later, she might not have made it. She had a lot of internal injuries and stuff. But she's going to be fine and so are you. And I have a surprise for you, but I'll let you talk to Andrew first."

"I don't…I'm kinda tired, Dad. I don't know if I can make it much longer." I told him truthfully. I did feel really sleepy; my eyelids kept closing all on their own.

"Well, he at least wants to see you so just see how long you last. He can hang out in here till you wake back up. I'll be back later." Casey leaned down and gave me a careful hug before leaving just as Andrew walked in. I smiled slightly at seeing my best friend.

"Hey, buddy, how ya feeling?" Andrew asked, taking a seat in the chair by my bed.

"Good. How are you?" I wanted badly to know what had happened to him. He had vanished; I knew he had. He'd been there, then he hadn't.

"Fine, now that you're okay. 'Course, I always knew you'd be okay. You had to be. Otherwise, the future would change and I'd seen the future so I knew it couldn't change…"

That's where I lost him. Andrew doesn't have a monotone voice, not at all, but I couldn't make myself focus on him anymore…I fell back asleep still wondering where he had vanished to.

*** Eight Years Later. SPD Headquarters. ***

Z was gone and a bright light was talking to Sky and the other Rangers. As soon as the light had said it needed to talk to Sky, Jack had drawn his gun. Sure. A bright, glowy light just showed up out of nowhere, and claimed it needed to talk to one of his Rangers. No way. Not a chance. There was something fishy going on here.

Sky took a step towards the light. "Who – what are you? Where are you from?"

Slowly, the light began to define itself. Sky could see edges and lines where before had just been bright light. Agonizing second after second, the light dimmed until a small figure stood before the Rangers. Sky recognized the boy instantly.

"Andrew? Andrew, what are you doing here? And why are you a ball of light? And why are you like nine years old? I just saw you last week and you were my age. Now you're younger? What's going on here?" Sky took a step towards the boy. Andrew backed away from him.

"You can't touch me, Sky. That might screw something up or it might not, I don't know. What I do know is he-" Andrew pointed at Jack, "-is about to disappear. Trust me."

Jack looked at Andrew and raised his eyebrow. "Really now? And how would you know-" And then he was gone. Just gone. Just like Kat and Commander Cruger, Boom and Z, Jack was gone. His gun clattered to the ground where he had been standing. Sky looked at Andrew.

"Start talking, Bradley. What do you know?" Sky moved towards Syd, as if with his mere presence, he could protect her from whatever was taking them away, one by one. Andrew shrugged.

"You remember Silas, don't you, Sky?"

Sky nodded slowly. "The cadet from two years ago? The one I caught cheating and turned in, getting him expelled? Yeah, I remember. What does he have to do with any of this?" Bridge and Syd looked completely confused and Sky motioned that he would fill them in later.

"Well, long story short, he's traveled back to the past, using some device Flynn recently developed. And he's messing with the timelines. So far, he's killed anyone who might get in his way of killing you. He has killed Boom. He killed Kat and Commander Cruger. He tracked down Elizabeth Delgado and killed her. Jack Landors just received a bullet to the forehead when he was twelve years old. Guess who's next?" Andrew's gaze moved from Syd to Bridge.

Bridge didn't speak. He just removed his glove and waved his hand in front of his face. "The kid has a good aura, Sky. Very noble and self-assured. But something's off. He's not entirely human. Or at least a part of him isn't…I don't really understand his aura at all."

Andrew waved his hand dismissively. "I'm a temporal anomaly. Long story, I'll tell it to you when I get back to where I came from. But, yes. I think Silas will go after Bridge and Syd next. Bridge because he's your brother. Syd because she has powers Silas understands and because he knows how much you care about her. And, he has just kidnapped Lee. You know why."

Sky's eyes widened. "Lee?" It was as if new memories were entering his head. Memories of a battle from when he was twelve that he had not remembered until just now. Dog creatures attacking him. Connor bleeding. Lee, grabbed from behind. "Oh, no. Lee's the only one…he's trying to get all of us at once, isn't he?" Andrew didn't answer. "What can we do?"

"You have to stop him. But you're going to have to hurry. And you're going to have to travel back to the past to do it. I can help; like I said, I'm an anomaly now. Get S.W.A.T mode and be ready to go at a moment's notice. I don't know when I'll be able to bring you back. But I will so be ready. It could be any minute. Have your morphers on you at all times."

Then, before Sky or anyone else could say anything else, there was a bright flash of green light and Andrew disappeared.

Bridge looked curiously at Sky. "Do you believe him?"

Sky nodded. "The kid's my best friend. If he says he is going to teleport us through time, he's going to do it. Let's get ready."

* **Eight Years Earlier. Corinth City Hospital. ***

I woke up about four hours later and Andrew was gone. The only two in the room were Syd and Bridge and they were fast asleep in two chairs on the other side of the room. With nothing else to do, I looked at the ceiling. It was pretty boring except for some weird green spots.

_Why'd you have to fall asleep, Tate? Now you don't know Andrew's story and he's not here and you might never find it out. Way to go,_ I berated myself. I wanted more than anything to find out where Andrew had disappeared to and how he was back. But it looked like that might have to wait. Syd was stirring in her seat and I watched as she stretched before realizing I was awake.

"Sky! You're awake!" she exclaimed, getting up and walking over to my bedside. She leaned down and gave me an awkward hug. "How are you feeling?"

I rolled my eyes. "Ready to get out of here. How are you? Seen any weird dogs lately?"

Syd shuddered. "Nope. And if I never do again, it'll be too soon. They haven't found Lee yet, either. Sky…what did that man mean when he said you and he were like old friends or something? How could you know someone who would kidnap a kid and sic dog beasts on more kids?"

"I don't have a clue what he was talking about, Syd, you have to believe me. I've never met him before in my life."

"No. But you will." Andrew's voice came from the doorway and I turned my head to look at him. He had a serious expression on his face. "His name is Silas. You and he go way back."

"What are you talking about?" Syd asked. A sudden nose behind her caused her to whirl around but it was just Bridge, sitting up on the couch he had been sleeping on. He raised his hands innocently. I noticed he had new gloves on.

Andrew came into the room, smiling. "Let me explain, sort of. As much as I can. When I used my green fire to destroy the dog attacking Connor, it was too much power. I ripped a hole through space-time. I became a temporal anomaly. Floating through time. Stopping in random times only to catch snatches of conversation or see people passing by. That's how I stumbled upon you and Silas, Sky."

"So I do know him?" I asked.

Andrew nodded. "You caught him cheating at SPD Academy and turned him in to Flynn. He got really mad and vowed revenge. Now he's here to get it. It was really luck that I stumbled upon your conversation anyway – you weren't exactly out in the open and it was only the second time I'd been in SPD headquarters. And now, Silas is out to get you and he's killing everyone who could stand in his way."

"Like Lee? Did he try to kill Connor and fail? Who is he going to come after next?" Syd grabbed my hand in hers, seemingly instinctually. I gave it a squeeze.

"Yeah, kinda. Lee plays a higher role. I can't tell you about it. I can't tell you much about the future at all, or there could be damage to the timeline. Don't ask me to explain. What I can tell you is that in the future, the three of you will be Power Rangers. Silas knows he won't be able to kill you, Sky, in his original timeline because your team would never let him fight you alone."

Bridge stood and walked over to me. "See? I knew we'd be friends. Turns out we are."

I smiled at him and looked back at Andrew. "So how is he going to overcome that?"

"He's killing your teammates in this year, in this time to prevent them from growing up and becoming Rangers or getting to know you at all. So far he has killed your Red Ranger and your Yellow Ranger. He has now come after you once. That will not be the last time. You cannot hope to defeat him alone, without any Ranger powers."

"My father will fight for us. So would Flynn and your Dad and all the others." I pointed out.

Andrew shook his head. "It won't be enough. So I have brought you some help. They should be here any minute."

There was a moment of silence and then, a bright orb of light appeared in the middle of the room. It cast light over the whole room and Sky saw that there were three people in the shadows. A man stood between a woman and another man. The man in the middle had dirty-blonde hair and icy blue eyes. The woman had curly blonde hair while the other guy had brown hair and a mischeveous grin. They wore uniforms, black with colored stripes on them. The leader's color was blue, the woman's was pink and the other man's was green.

The brown-haired man and the woman stayed a step behind the blonde man as he stepped out of the shadows. "Sky Tate. SPD. This is Bridge and Syd. We're here to help."

I couldn't say anything. I was looking at myself. Now there's something you don't see every day.

**Author's Note: So what did you think? You like? I thought it was pretty cool. We're all in this timeline now, I think. So shouldn't be too confusing. Please read and review!**


End file.
